These smart glasses have been recalled for overheating temples causing burns

Your smart glasses may now present a burn hazard.

Inmo has issued a recall for its Air3 smart glasses due to a defect causing the left temple to overheat and potentially cause burns. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported 10 user incidents involving a "burning sensation" on the face and ear. The recall affects approximately 1,600 units sold in the US and Canada between December 2025 and August 2026 via Inmo's website, Amazon, and a Kickstarter campaign, with prices ranging from $900 to $1,300. The affected glasses are black with an "Air3 Inmo" label on the right temple. Consumers are instructed to cease using the devices and contact Inmo for a free software update to resolve the overheating problem. This issue was noted in reviews as early as seven months ago, with Inmo previously including a protective sleeve to mitigate the heat.

This recall highlights significant safety oversights in Inmo's product development, particularly concerning thermal management in wearable electronics. The fact that the company was aware of the issue and attempted a workaround with a protective sleeve, rather than immediately addressing the root cause, suggests potential systemic flaws in their quality assurance processes. This incident could cast a shadow over the broader smart glasses market, potentially increasing scrutiny from regulatory bodies and consumer watchdogs regarding device safety standards. Investors and competing companies will likely view this as a cautionary tale, emphasizing the critical need for robust safety testing and responsible recall procedures in the nascent augmented reality hardware sector.

The situation underscores the challenges of rapidly iterating on consumer electronics, especially in emerging fields like smart glasses where long-term usage patterns and potential failure modes are less understood. Inmo's reliance on a software update to fix a hardware overheating problem raises questions about the efficacy and long-term stability of such solutions, potentially impacting user trust. Competitors may leverage this incident to emphasize their own safety protocols and product reliability, aiming to capture market share from consumers wary of similar risks. Furthermore, this recall could influence the design philosophy of future smart glasses, pushing manufacturers to prioritize passive cooling and resilient hardware over aggressive miniaturization at the expense of safety.